User Interfaces with Strike Sensors

1. A user interface system comprising: a user interface surface on which a user interface device is to be supported; a strike sensor disposed on an underside of the user interface surface to: detect strikes to a topside of the user interface surface; and distinguish between movement of the user interface device along the user interface surface and a strike to the user interface surface; a haptic feedback device disposed on an underside of the user interface surface to generate haptic feedback responsive to a detected strike; and an interface to transmit data to and from a computing device.

2. The user interface system of claim 1 , wherein the interface is a wireless interface.

3. The user interface system of claim 1 , wherein the strike sensor is a passive strike sensor that is not powered.

4. The user interface system of claim 1 , wherein the strike sensor is a piezoresistive sensor that outputs a voltage value responsive to the detected strike.

5. The user interface system of claim 1 , wherein the strike sensor is one of multiple strike sensors, each of which are placed around a border of the user interface surface.

6. The user interface system of claim 1 , wherein the user interface surface is flexible.

7. The user interface system of claim 1 , wherein the strike sensor, when in a calibration mode, is calibrated to distinguish between movement of the user interface device along the user interface surface and a strike to the user interface surface.

8. The user interface system of claim 1 , wherein: the user interface surface comprises a flexible plastic top layer; the user interface surface comprises a rubber underside; and the strike sensor is embedded within the rubber underside.

9. The user interface system of claim 1 , wherein a force of a generated haptic feedback is based on a strength of the strike.

10. A method, comprising: identifying multiple regions on a user interface surface, wherein each region is associated with a different task; receiving data from multiple strike sensors disposed on an underside of the user interface surface; distinguishing, based on the data, between a movement of the user interface device along the user interface surface and a strike to the user interface surface; determining, based on the data, a region where a strike occurred; and generating haptic feedback responsive to a detected strike.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising performing, based on the detected strike and the region where the detected strike occurred, a task associated with the region.

12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising preventing a task associated with the region based on a detected movement of the user interface device along the user interface surface.

13. The method of claim 10 , further comprising generating haptic feedback in the user interface surface based on an application running on a computing device to which the user interface surface is electrically coupled.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising generating different strengths of haptic feedback in the user interface surface based on different characteristics of the application running on the computing device.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein performing a task associated with the region, comprises emulating at least one of a keyboard command and a mouse command to a computing device to which the user interface surface is electrically coupled.

16. The method of claim 10 , further comprising distinguishing, based on the data, between a strike by a mouse along the user interface surface and a strike by a user finger against the user interface surface.

17. The method of claim 10 , wherein distinguishing, based on the data, between the movement of the user interface device along the user interface surface and the strike to the user interface surface is based on: a strength of a force; a pattern of the force; a surface area of the force; and a length of time the force is applied.

18. The method of claim 10 , wherein the haptic feedback is generated responsive to a received audio signature.

19. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium encoded with instructions executable by a processor, the machine-readable storage medium comprising: instructions to identify multiple regions on a mouse pad, wherein each region is associated with a different task; instructions to receive data from multiple strike sensors disposed on an underside of the mouse pad; instructions to distinguish, based on the data, between a movement of a user interface device along the mouse pad and a strike to the mouse pad; instructions to determine, based on the data, a region of the multiple regions where the strike occurred based on a relative voltage value received by each of the multiple strike sensors and a timing of received voltage values; and instructions to generate haptic feedback responsive to a detected strike.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 19 , wherein the non-transitory machine-readable storage medium further comprises instructions to receive user indication of tasks to associate with the multiple regions.